Published: Monday, September 16, 2013 at 6:01 a.m.

Last Modified: Saturday, September 14, 2013 at 2:10 a.m.

The opposite sides of St. Charles Street from Valhi Boulevard to La. 311 tell different stories.

On one side, weeds begin to grow alongside the recently shuttered Dairy Queen. A gas station sits empty with a “Now Open” sign still sitting in front. Further down, workers have started to remove the signs from the now-closed Iberia Bank.

Year-old businesses sit aside new construction near the dense residential neighborhoods along Valhi and St. Antonio boulevards. In the coming months, at least five new businesses will open along the stretch.

Joe Boudreaux of J.E. Boudreaux Services is responsible for seeing that those businesses meet those opening date goals.

Boudreaux owns a two-story building that will see three new eateries open before the year ends.

“This is the heart of the residential district,” he said. “There is a lot of interest in doing business here.”

“It's an up-and-coming spot,” Shannon said. “Business has been great. It's the slowest tanning season, but things are picking up. Hair has been very busy.”

Beside Shannon's studio, the owners of downtown's Samurai Dragon are opening an express version of the restaurant featuring conveyor sushi.

“There is nothing around here quite like it,” Joe said of the concept that involves small sushi helpings traveling through the restaurant on a conveyor belt. It's up to the diner to decide which one they want by pulling it off the line, he said.

Joe said the restaurant will share all of its downtown counterpart's options aside from hibachi dining. The restaurant will also have a take-out window, he added. The owners hope to open by mid-October.

On the other side of Glisten, Samurai's owners are also opening a new frozen yogurt franchise. The shop will feature yogurt as well as fresh cupcakes and other sweets, Joe said.

Workers are also hard at work preparing the popular sandwich franchise Jimmy Johns for its Houma debut. Both the sandwich shop and yogurt stop plan to open before the end of September, Joe said.

The building will also host architects for Duplantis Design Group and an education center for young children, Joe added.

Long rows of houses are visible out the back door of the new restaurants. Boudreaux said he anticipates the residential area to continue growing.

“This offers somewhere for people to go without getting on MLK Boulevard and the traffic,” Shannon said.

Joe said he hopes to purchase the land next door for a similar development.

Just down the street, steel frames are beginning to form the skeleton of a new Mexican restaurant.

Owner and local lawyer Robert Landry confirmed La Carreta will open sometime around January. The franchise has several locations around Louisiana and is noted for its American-style Mexican food, which is usually accompanied by a bar area.

“We just like the development going on over there and decided to go there instead of MLK or more traditional places,” Landry said. “We have an outdoor concept, which we think will work better there,” he said.

<p>The opposite sides of St. Charles Street from Valhi Boulevard to La. 311 tell different stories.</p><p>On one side, weeds begin to grow alongside the recently shuttered Dairy Queen. A gas station sits empty with a “Now Open” sign still sitting in front. Further down, workers have started to remove the signs from the now-closed Iberia Bank.</p><p>More optimistic signs sit on the other side. </p><p>New buildings sit behind “Now Hiring” signs beckoning potential employees and “Now Open” signs wooing potential customers. </p><p>Year-old businesses sit aside new construction near the dense residential neighborhoods along Valhi and St. Antonio boulevards. In the coming months, at least five new businesses will open along the stretch. </p><p>Joe Boudreaux of J.E. Boudreaux Services is responsible for seeing that those businesses meet those opening date goals. </p><p>Boudreaux owns a two-story building that will see three new eateries open before the year ends. </p><p>“This is the heart of the residential district,” he said. “There is a lot of interest in doing business here.” </p><p>Boudreaux's wife, Shannon, owns 3-week-old Glisten Studio, a nail, hair and tanning salon in the building. </p><p>“It's an up-and-coming spot,” Shannon said. “Business has been great. It's the slowest tanning season, but things are picking up. Hair has been very busy.”</p><p>Beside Shannon's studio, the owners of downtown's Samurai Dragon are opening an express version of the restaurant featuring conveyor sushi.</p><p>“There is nothing around here quite like it,” Joe said of the concept that involves small sushi helpings traveling through the restaurant on a conveyor belt. It's up to the diner to decide which one they want by pulling it off the line, he said. </p><p>Joe said the restaurant will share all of its downtown counterpart's options aside from hibachi dining. The restaurant will also have a take-out window, he added. The owners hope to open by mid-October.</p><p>On the other side of Glisten, Samurai's owners are also opening a new frozen yogurt franchise. The shop will feature yogurt as well as fresh cupcakes and other sweets, Joe said. </p><p>Workers are also hard at work preparing the popular sandwich franchise Jimmy Johns for its Houma debut. Both the sandwich shop and yogurt stop plan to open before the end of September, Joe said. </p><p>The building will also host architects for Duplantis Design Group and an education center for young children, Joe added. </p><p>Long rows of houses are visible out the back door of the new restaurants. Boudreaux said he anticipates the residential area to continue growing. </p><p>“This offers somewhere for people to go without getting on MLK Boulevard and the traffic,” Shannon said. </p><p>Joe said he hopes to purchase the land next door for a similar development. </p><p>Just down the street, steel frames are beginning to form the skeleton of a new Mexican restaurant. </p><p>Owner and local lawyer Robert Landry confirmed La Carreta will open sometime around January. The franchise has several locations around Louisiana and is noted for its American-style Mexican food, which is usually accompanied by a bar area. </p><p>“We just like the development going on over there and decided to go there instead of MLK or more traditional places,” Landry said. “We have an outdoor concept, which we think will work better there,” he said.</p>